Model toy railroads have been in existence for many years. In a typical model toy railroad layout, the model train engine is an electrical engine that receives power from a voltage that is applied to the tracks and picked up by the train motor. A transformer is used to apply the power to the tracks while contacts on the bottom of the train, or metallic wheels of the train, pick up the applied power for the train motor. The transformer controls both the amplitude and polarity of the voltage, thereby controlling the speed and direction of the train. In HO systems, the voltage is a DC voltage. In O-gauge systems, for example, the track voltage is an AC voltage transformed by the transformer from the 60 Hz, 120 volt AC line voltage provided by a standard wall socket, to a reduced AC voltage (e.g., 0–18 volts AC).
Over the course of time, model toy railroad layouts have been developed so as to make their operation more closely resemble that of actual trains and railroad layouts. These developments have taken the form of providing model trains with various operating features and providing railroad layouts with a number of railroad accessories. For instance, many model trains are provided with lighting systems to allow for the illumination of headlights and other lighting features of a train in order to accurately capture a realistic depiction of an operating train. Many model trains are also equipped with smoke generating and sound generating devices that serve to produce smoke and sound to mimic the generation of smoke and sound of real trains. Similarly, railroad accessories, such as, for example, railroad crossings, lamp posts and illuminated buildings are also common in model toy railroads.
To utilize these operating features and accessories, however, power needs to be supplied to the respective devices. The power provided to these features and accessories typically comes from the line voltage provided to the system via the third or center rail of a railroad layout (i.e., O-gauge systems). One shortcoming that exists with conventional types of model toy railroad layouts is that the power provided to the features and accessory devices can fluctuate due to sudden changes in the track voltage (e.g., a surge of power or a dip in power that can be caused by track irregularities) or the sudden change in load resistance (e.g., the addition or removal of operating features and/or accessories). Consequently, these fluctuations can degrade the performance of the operating features or accessory devices, or alter, in an undesirable way, the operation of an operating feature or accessory. For instance, if the fluctuation is due to a spike in the track voltage, the fluctuations can be damaging to the load element of the operating features or accessory devices as too much power will be provided to the devices. Similarly, if the magnitude of these fluctuations is such that less than optimal power is provided to the operating features or accessories, the fluctuation can be detrimental to the overall objective of realism, as the operating features or accessories will not perform at their optimal level. Finally, fluctuation of the voltage may be undesirable when a uniform effect (e.g., lighting effect) is desired.
There is, therefore, a need for a model toy railroad layout that will minimize and/or eliminate at least one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.